Posts Tagged ‘women’

When it comes to money and marriage, young women are more likely to know about and manage a couple’s finances.

According to a new national survey by FindLaw.com, the most popular legal information Web site, married women between the ages of 18 and 34 are the most likely among married people to play a significant role in managing the couple’s finances, and less likely to squabble with their spouses about money.

“We found that younger women, in many ways, are the most money-savvy among married couples,” said Stephanie Rahlfs, an attorney and editor with FindLaw.com. “We sought to understand how couples manage their money, how much they fight about money, and how much they know about their financial situation. Younger women are the most likely – among men or women of all ages – to take on responsibility for understanding and managing the household finances, and do it without fighting about money issues.”

• Younger women are more likely to manage the household finances by themselves, rather than letting their spouses handle it or managing the money together. Thirty-seven percent of young married women say they handle all the household finances, compared with only 30 percent of young married men.

• Younger women are less likely to fight about money with their spouses. The survey found that while “Money” is the No. 1 issue most married couples fight about, younger women are more likely to fight about their partner’s bad habits than money. In fact, money is tied for third with issues involving relatives and in-laws, after bad habits and having or raising children.

• Who knows the most about their spouse’s finances when they get married? Whether it’s income, debts, net worth, retirement savings or even credit score, most younger women knew the details about their spouse’s finances before they got married. By contrast, less than half of younger men say they knew their wife’s net worth, retirement savings or credit score before they got married.

“Money and marriage are inevitably intertwined,” said Rahlfs. “Property rights, joint responsibilities and obligations, and legal benefits are as much a part of marriage as vows and wedding rings. How much couples know about their finances and how they decide to manage their money are important issues as couples go through their married life together. Whether married or about to get married, couples should understand the legal and financial aspects of marriage.”

Free Internet resources, such as FindLaw.com (http://www.findlaw.com), can provide helpful information on topics such as marriage, adoption and divorce, including a fiancé(e) and newlywed financial checklist, guide to adopting a child, and factors to consider in dividing property in a divorce.

The FindLaw.com survey was conducted using a demographically balanced telephone survey of 1,000 American adults and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus three percent.

It’s supposedly the most wonderful time of the year, but all that celebrating can leave partiers facing some unexpected, life-changing consequences. Fortunately, Shelby Knox, an expert in sex ed and women’s issues, provided Marvelous Girl with some safety tips for social media, college parties, New Year’s Eve and more. If you have a daughter you should definitely check out the interview below.

You can also catch Knox on the upcoming PBS documentary, This Emotional Life, January 4, 5, and 6, 2010, at 8pm ET. To see the trailer, click here.

About Shelby Knox:
Shelby Knox, star of the award-winning documentary “The Education of Shelby Knox,” is a well-known progressive activist who fought for comprehensive sex education at her own school and is now working to make a difference at other schools and communities across the US with her forward-thinking views on women’s issues. In Knox’s recent post on The HuffingtonPost.com, she reminds young women about the potential pitfalls during their college years, pointing out that it’s always better to be prepared in the face of certain dilemmas. In her Smart Girl’s Guide, she gives concrete suggestions and ways that young women can prevent pitfalls. Her goal is to remind young women that they need to be savvy and have a plan.

Knox studied government at the University of Texas in Austin, and traveled to speak at high schools, colleges, and community events about comprehensive sex education and youth activism. After graduating in 2007, she moved to New York to work as a freelance writer and consultant to organizations working on young women’s issues. She continues her work as a sexual health educator in partnership with colleges around the country.

Pregnancy.org, a company dedicated to the lives of women trying to conceive, pregnant or whom have kids already, has released a study with alarming results. The survey, which interviewed over 400 pregnant women, revealed that 78% admit to a poor diet, inadequate exercise or not taking a prenatal vitamin daily. The survey also showed:

61% don’t take a pre-natal vitamin daily as they feel it makes them more nauseous

55% did not seek expert advice on which pre-natal vitamin was suitable for them

Over 25% of respondents admitted to consuming alcohol, cigarettes or caffeine

Folate and Iron are the most sought after vitamins/minerals in a pre-natal vitamin but over 50% respondents don’t know what foods naturally contain them

When asked what they look for in a pre-natal vitamin price was considered more important than absorption rates or ingredient quality

80% don’t change their pre-natal vitamin formula from pre-conception to breastfeeding Founder and General

Manager of Pregnancy.org, LLC, Mollee Bauer, said “Our community boards are always buzzing about how pregnant moms struggle with diet, exercise and taking their daily pregnancy or prenatal vitamin and much of it can be attributed to feeling nauseas. In response we have created the first ever prenatal vitamin with a 100% anti-nausea GUARANTEE and an online nutrition clinic.”

Many women don’t realize that their vitamins may be making them feel unwell, adding to typical morning sickness symptoms. Typically, prenatal vitamins include iron, an essential nutrient during pregnancy, but when taken with other vitamins and minerals it can be hard to absorb and cause an upset stomach. The new anti-nausea formula allows moms to take a separate, highly absorbent iron + Vitamin C capsule and a prenatal multivitamin with B12, which has been shown to reduce symptoms associated with morning sickness.

The company enlisted the help of Beverly Hills Registered Dietitian, Deborah Klein, to develop the new anti-nausea vitamin. “In the last fifteen years of practice I’ve worked with thousands of moms-to be and as a mom myself I know the importance of getting enough nutrients and choosing the right prenatal supplement. Our aim was to create a pre-natal vitamin with everything a mom and baby needs that could help alleviate nausea not create it. If mom’s try any of the products and it doesn’t help we offer a 100% anti-nausea money back guarantee!!”

The new range of prenatal and pregnancy vitamins are exclusively available through Pregnancy.org. The clinic also provides information on how to eat right during pregnancy and online consultations with Registered Dietitians.

The holidays can be a stressful time, and giving the current economic climate, the nation will likely be getting less sleep this season as they worry about finances, according to Sleepbetter.org. The company released a Holiday Slumber Index with some interesting findings:

Losing Sleep Over the Holidays?

44% of parents say they are worried about affording the holidays this year

35% of all Americans are worried about affording the holidays (16% much more/19% somewhat more)

Hispanics are more worried about affording the holidays this year – 46% (vs. 35% for the general population

Women (21%) are more likely than men (13%) to say they lose sleep in the run-up to Christmas.

The Night Before Gifting, All Were Not Sleeping…

66% of parents will get six or fewer hours of sleep the night before gift-giving

17% of parents get less than five hours of sleep the night before

And on the flip side – three in ten (30%) parents receive 7 to 8 hours of sleep, while few (4%) slumber for more than 8 hours the night before gift-giving

49% of the entire population gets less than 6 hours of sleep the night before gift-giving

Two in ten (19%) parents say that their children get 6 hours or less of sleep that night. 44% of parents say their children get 7 to 8 hours of sleep, and 34% get 9 or more hours the night before gifts.

This was a national telephone survey (1001 respondents) conducted by IPSOS and commissioned by Sleepbetter.org.

Oprah Winfrey recently announced she will end her daytime talk show in 2011 to reappear on the Oprah Winfrey Network – her OWN cable company.

Winfrey made the decision because there were more and more viewers watching less and less of network television and she saw her audience dwindling. In short, there are just too many choices too many other places.

With a station devoted solely to Oprah, what can we expect? 24-hour programming of Oprah-deemed-worthy movies and books? Is O-TV the new Lifetime or Oxygen?

Often the “business” of a relationship (who’s picking up the kids, what’s there to eat for dinner, how are we doing on our family budget?) can get in the way of the closeness that’s necessary in a marriage. “The intimacy can diminish from a couple’s love-life: not that they love each other any less, but that closeness, that feeling of true connection can fade. What usually happens next? Women complain about their plight but men leave,” says Dr. Noelle Nelson, relationship expert and author of Your Man is Wonderful.

“Men don’t necessarily leave physically,” notes Nelson, “but whereas women speak up loudly in relationships about what’s bothering them, men respond more often than not by simply leaving. First emotionally, then mentally, lastly physically.”

Nelson believes men are trained by our culture and society not to whine or complain, but to be stoic and put up with hardship. “They bring that attitude into their relationships as well,” says Nelson. “Which is why a wife is often surprised to find her mate has strayed. She assumed that since he wasn’t complaining, all was well.”

Nelson offers these suggestions to couples who want to keep (or rekindle) the closeness they felt when they were first married:

Pay as much attention to the connection side of your relationship as you do to the business side.

Openly express your appreciation to your mate every day, let him or her know how valuable they are–to you, to your family, to the world.

Purposefully join in those activities your spouse enjoys, be that the ballgame on Sunday afternoon, her new interest in tennis, or his fascination with a new software program.

If you can’t join in, be supportive, interested and enthusiastic.

Be engaged in his or her work, show interest in what makes up your spouse’s day, and engage your spouse in yours.

“Connection is automatic when we first fall in love,” says Nelson, “but it must be nurtured if it is to be maintained, and lovingly tended so you remain close, not apart, as the years go by.”